Officials say a hacker may have gotten Social Security numbers and other personal information on county employees by accessing an Internet-based tool used for the Cerro Gordo County bank account. County Treasurer Pat Wright says that security safeguards prevented the hacker from stealing any money from the account.
Wright says the hacker gained access to the county’s account with Shazam, an Internet-based tool used to create automatic payments and withdrawals. Officials say 230 of the county’s 250 employees have direct deposit of their paychecks through Shazam.
Wright has sent a letter to county employees and about 100 entities that do business with the county, telling them their bank account numbers, bank routing numbers and Social Security numbers may have been compromised.
The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors met in a special session Monday afternoon to discuss the ramifications of the hacking and authorized spending up to $20,000 to provide information to employees on identity theft protection, credit monitoring services and other related services for six to 12 months.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City